


could have

by storiesfortravellers



Category: White Collar
Genre: Canon Temporary Character Death, F/M, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Series, Presumed Dead, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 05:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3368969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesfortravellers/pseuds/storiesfortravellers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers for all of S5. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>After Rachel fakes her death, she keeps tabs on Neal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	could have

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "Logical" at the WC promptfest hosted by Elr.

She figures it out as soon as she hears; Neal's "death" is obviously fake.

Her first thought is that he stole the idea from her, but she remembers the way he shook and cried at night after her own alleged end, and she knows that Neal has no idea that she's still alive.

She watches; it takes his friend, the one with glasses, the one she half liked, a few weeks to figure out about Neal. It takes the Fed longer, several months. She doesn't pity him; she still rages that Neal chose him over her. Logically she knows this is not how it happened. She knows Neal's history, knows that he stops sharing his bed with someone as soon as he learns they're a killer -- though it's funny how he keeps ending up in bed with killers (Keller, Adler, countless others). He's a conman who keeps falling in love with lies, a good man attracted to dark hearts (with some exceptions - Peter, Kate, a few others). 

Still, she takes a cruel pleasure in knowing Peter Burke suffered. No surprise that he figured it out eventually, though; the man is insufferable but not a fool.

She knows that Neal is in Paris. Still working jobs, though more cautiously than he would have in years past. She knows his favorite cafe, where he likes to buy bread, and what parks he likes to frequent at dusk. Since being in Paris, he has stolen 5 paintings, stopped 3 muggings, and adopted a stray dog.

Neal is, still, a man who has no idea who he is.

A shame. If he ever figures it out, she might just take the risk of letting him meet her again.

The dead, after all, can have the most interesting conversations.


End file.
